Friday, May 19, 2017 TM backs school override, sets...

(978) 297-0050 • www.winchendoncourier.com Newsstand: 75 cents Friday, May 19, 2017

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LOCAL

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SPORTS

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WEEKLY QUOTE

BY KEITH KENTCOURIER CORRESPONDENT

Town of Winchendon resi-dents who purchase a new transfer station sticker will each receive a 1.58 gallon kitch-en food scrap composting bin provided by a state Recycling Dividend Grant program to help residents continue fur-thering the town’s status as a green community.

DPW Administrative Assistant Wendy Stevens worked diligently on the grant application process for nearly two years. Working with six potential suppliers to negotiate the best price possible, Stevens was not only able to lock in a price, but actually saved funds to assist other purchases.

Stevens explained, “We did not follow through with the

grant the first year, because the town needed a ‘Buy Recycle Policy’ in place and there was none at that time, so we did not submit in 2015. As we had the policy in place in 2016, I submitted the application and we were awarded the grant for $2,600 in September of 2016 from state DEP.”

Originally targeted for rough-ly 450 units, Stevens strong work seeking competitive bids quickly paid dividends for the community allowing the num-ber to be gradually increased to 660 at a cost of $1689.60 or $2.56 each, including all ship-ping costs.

Per grant guidelines Stevens said, “The DPW was able to order new signage required by DEP for the transfer station at

BY JERRY CARTONCOURIER CORRESPONDENT

WINCHENDON — Writing about history can be a chal-lenge. Confirming, verifying facts from centuries past tends to lead down a slew of winding roads and more than one stops at a dead-end. That’s the nature of the beast, but if you ask them, every journalist will be happy to tell you how much they enjoy the chase.

In that spirit, the Courier has been delving into a frequently murky past to try and tell at least part of the story of the his-tory of policing in Winchendon, a narrative unfortunately marked by significant gaps sim-ply because there was no infor-mation available. Historians will tell you sometimes it’s just not there. So, we’ve recon-structed what we could through

research and interviews. For this story, we’re particularly indebted to Don O’Neil at the Winchendon Historical Society and police Chief Dave Walsh for their enthusiastic support and cooperation. To be sure, this won’t be the only story we write on the subject (a slew of person-al recollections will be coming next week) but we believe it is the first the Courier has written in such depth and so we begin.

“It can be assumed,” wrote Lois Greenwood in ‘Winchendon Years, 1764-1964’, her epic 400-page plus book published more than a half century ago, “that in the earliest days of police pro-tection, Winchendon had the unpaid ‘watch and ward’ system which the colonists brought to America.”

“Earliest days” meaning

BY GREG VINECOURIER CORRESPONDENT

Winchendon Historical Commission Chairman Corey Bohan announced last week that a $10,000 historic preser-vation mitigation grant from Cumberland Farms “is a go.”

“Cumberland Farms has requested that we send them a letter officially accepting the grant,” Bohan told his fellow commission members.

“This will allow us to do future preservation work,” said Bohan. “This is a great thing for us.”

Last year, the commission had talked about the possibility of using the cash to hire a con-sultant to lay out a downtown historic preservation district. At last week’s meeting, how-ever, Bohan discussed the pos-sibility of trying to quadruple the $10,000 Cumberland Farms and using the cash to expand the commission’s efforts and

capabilities.“I would like to apply for

an additional $10,000 from the Robinson Broadhurst Foundation,” Bohan told his fellow commission members. “The I’d like to see if would could double that $20,000 with a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.”

Bohan said, should the commission be successful in obtaining the total of $40,000, “That would put us in a posi-tion where we could do more than just laying out the down-town historic district we were considering.”

“We could, for example, look at expanding the area we had originally envisioned for the historic district,” he contin-ued. “And we would also have the resources to perhaps hire a part-time employee. We could certainly use the help. There

WINCHENDON — In an effort to bring attention to the many people who give to the town through unre-warded work, the History and Cultural Center Board of Directors has instituted a new program.

Beginning this year, and in every year going forward, two new awards will be pre-sented recognizing the hard work of local volunteers.

The first, named for Lois Greenwood, who worked with the Winchendon Historical Society for many years and

was the author of a seminal history of the town, is award-ed to a someone who has demonstrated a clear effort on behalf of historic effort, preservation or care in the town.

The first recipients cho-sen for this award were the entire membership of the Historic Commission. The Commission was instrumen-tal in preserving at least a modicum of memory of the Joseph Fruit Store in the new construction of the Cumberland Farms.

Current membership of the Commission includes Lois Abare, Chairman Corey Bohan, Peggy Corbosiero, Mary Harrington, Yvonne Harrington, James McCrohon and David Plummer.

Bohan accepted the award on behalf of the commission, saying it was an honor to be recognized. He in turn gift-ed the History and Cultural Center with the dated plaque from the front of the Joseph’s Store for preservation.


At Monday’s annual town meeting, Winchendon voters decided to push ahead with a Proposition 2 ½ override that would provide addition-al funds to the town’s school department. By a 68 percent to 32 percent margin, the plan to “raise and appropriate the sum of $417,675” via ballot question was approved following a pre-sentation from school depart-ment officials and a number of questions and statements from the audience.

Town Clerk Judy LaJoie said Tuesday morning that 387 vot-ers were on hand for the meet-ing; 52 more than cast ballots in the May 1 annual election.

School Committee Chairman Larry Murphy began the school department’s appeal for support by stating that Winchendon founded the first high school in Worcester County in 1887.

“Old Murdock was the very first high school (in the coun-ty),” he said. “There was a com-mitment to students here, and you guys have been great for

the last 130 years. But I would like to make it 131. We need your help.”

Superintendent Steven Haddad employed a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate to voters that failing to support the override would hinder the district’s efforts to first lift itself from a Level 3 district to Level 2, and then to Level 1. School officials have set the goal of reaching Level 2 within three years.

Haddad provided statistics illustrating that most district

Turn To AWARDS page A9

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Turn To POLICING page A7Turn To COMPOST page A9

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TM backs school override, sets election

Greg Vine photo

Winchendon School Superintendent Steven Haddad confers with School Committee Chairman Larry Murphy and Vice Chairman Janet Corbosiero prior to the start of Monday’s special and annual town meetings.

Tina Leduc Santos was the recipient of the first Meg Urquhart Volunteer award presented by the Winchendon History and Cultural Center.

Corey Bohan, as chairman of the Historic Commission, accepted the Lois Greenwood Historic Volunteer award on behalf of that group.

New awards presented to prestigious volunteers

Watching and warding in Winchendon:

a history of policing

Historical Commission confirms CF grant

Courtesy of Marinelli family

This photo, circa 1968, is a gathering of local police for an event, perhaps a dinner. Left to right. Fred Cloutier, Dick Diotolavi , Mando Manoni, Charles Keeney, Art Tatro, Sal Marinelli, Chief Robert Murphy, Charles Leavens, George Higgins, Charles Schreader, James Lineen, and Paul LaBarge.

State grant helps transfer station customers

Photo by Keith Kent

DPW Administrative Assistant Wendy Stevens displays a kitchen food scrap composting bin which will be given to each person who purchases a Transfer Station usage sticker.

Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories.

–Steven Wright

Winchendon courier 2

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Friday, May 19, 2017

WINCHENDON — Murdock High School has announced the following students have earned a place on the honor rolls for the third quarter.

GRADE 9Highest Honors: Hanna

Demanche, and Timothy Jinn.

High Honors: Erica Lashua, Riya Patel, Courtney Post, and Cassandra Wightman.

Honors: Paige Demanche, Cassidy Stadfeld, Grade Sutherland, and Amber Wood.

GRADE 10Highest Honors: Sirena

Caputi, Lindsey Gemme, Chloe Lawrence, Timmy Quinn, Ashley Signa, and Lindsey Smith.

High Honors: Lillian Dack, Britney Jackson, and Ryan Thira.

Honors: Elissa Boucher, Matthew Casavant, Yang Yi

Chen, Megan Houle, Lily Hunt, Lily LeBlanc, Maria Polcari, Phebe Shippy, and Emily Smith.

GRADE 11Highest Honors: Michaela

Benedict, Alexander Marshall and Hannah Morse.

High Honors: Tiana Taylor.

Honors: Ariana Berman, Jacob Carter, Alia LeBlanc, and Brandon Peterson.

GRADE 12Highest Honors: Dakota

Leslie and Hanna Seghir. High Honors: Thomas

Aho, Andrew Burns, Brooke Harris, Katie Heacox, Ryan Kaminsky, Alyssa LaBrack, Jasmine Leslie, Aidan Provost, Dalton Scott, and Tiffany Shammo-Sluder.

Honors: Kayla Bennett, Alyana Burgess, Dallas Hamel, Victoria Swanson and Brittany Williams.

BY JERRY CARTONCOURIER CORRESPONDENT

WINCHENDON — The ‘Benches’, a mental health project created by Murdock High School students Lily LeBlanc, Alec Hart and Cassidy Stadtfeld was awarded $700 in grant money last week by a panel representing the United Way/Youth Venture pro-gram run out of Mount Wachusett Community College.

“This is our baby,” enthused LeBlanc, who said the idea has been in the works for some 18 months.

LeBlanc and Hart delivered a power-point presentation to the committee explaining their vision for the project.

“We want to put benches at specific places on each floor of the high school where kids who have been bullied, or kids who are going through anything really, can have a ‘safe place’ to sit and talk,” with trained peer and adult mentors, adding that if privacy is needed, there will be places to hold those conversations as well.

“I was bullied. A lot of people are. A couple years ago, I thought about suicide. I want to give a lot of credit to Mr. Provost (Kris, who is MHS’ ‘champion’ for Youth

Venture). He’s made a big differ-ence for me.”

“We want the benches to be a place where people, students and administrators, kids and adults can go. Eventually we would like to expand it to the middle school, then to other schools in the dis-trict and then outside the dis-trict. Those are long-term goals, though” she said.

For now, the trio wants to sus-tain the whole project and are hoping to recruit between six and 15 volunteers to participate, all of whom will first be vetted by high school Assistant Principal Ralph Borseth (“he’s been so support-ive,” noted Hart). Borseth isn’t the only adult backer. LeBlanc said teacher Kelly Fitzpatrick and school counselor Jane Greenleaf are also advocates. She added they’ve even reached out to senior center director Sheila Bettro.

LeBlanc said the project is being marketed largely through the use of social media and fund-raising efforts will include the sale of homemade friendship bracelets, t-shirts and baked goods from the daily food cart.

As for the actual construction of the benches which the trio hope to have ready when school re-opens in the fall, Martin Johnson will be

the primary builder and LeBlanc pointed out all recyclable items will be used.

School committee member Larry Murphy, who joined dis-trict Superintendent Steve Haddad and Academy for Success educator Becky Benedict on the panel congratulated the trio for “taking on this delicate issue,” and he spoke for the group when reminding that confidentiality will be an important issue to con-sider.

LeBlanc acknowledged the group will have to determine a formula for collecting and review-ing data to see if they’re making a difference.

The idea was originally hers and when asked how he got involved a bemused Hart recalled, “She said, ‘I have a meeting. You’re going too’. It was kind of an order but I’m glad I did.”

MWCC coordinator Evan Berry said, “We feel like projects such as this gives students a chance to reach out. They’re starting these in school but they’re really reach-ing out beyond the school campus as well which will benefit them as they get older. They’re making a difference and they should be proud of themselves.”

Atter continues to be upbeat about local schoolsBY JERRY CARTON

COURIER CORRESPONDENT

WINCHENDON — If there’s one thing about which Memorial School Interim Principal Michelle Atter is certain, it is this: her school is the one in the district which lays the foundation academical-ly, socially and often emotionally for young children beginning their class-room careers.

“We’re where it starts,” she said.Being “where it starts” obviously has

academic components but Atter noted there is “fun stuff” too.

“We need to have them want to be here,” she stressed, pointing out the enjoyable activities are a path to getting youngsters to be invested in being in school.

As for the academic side of things, Atter cited numerous strategies which are being used to get kids off to a good start and they start early. “Incoming kindergarten students schedule appointments for screening...on speech/language skills, fine motor skills, letter, sound, shape, and color recognition and hearing and vision.

“This information helps with place-ment for the upcoming school year and

targets students who may need addi-tional support. The earlier we identify possible issues, the faster we can take steps to help,” said Atter.

Teachers also monitor academic progress so when decisions come for the next year’s placement, “teachers look at reading levels, boy to girl ratio, personalities and behaviors to formu-late class lists for the upcoming year,” Atter remarked.

Behaviors are. in fact. watched as well. Enter the Tier 1 and 2 programs.

“We’ve fully implemented Tier 1, a system of behavioral management with-in the school for all students,” Atter explained, adding, if a particular stu-dent receives more than five write-ups, they are referred to the Tier 2 team “for additional supports and interventions.”

“We set expectations in the class-room, in the cafeteria, in the halls,” reminded Atter, “and we have a suc-cessful RTI (Response to Intervention) model.”

Atter’s been in the education for 19 years, the last six in administration. She’s proud, she said, of her staff which has had very little faculty turnover.

“That shows their commitment,” she noted, adding, “teachers these days are

asked to do more than just teach. In many cases, they have to sometimes assume the role of surrogate parents or counselors. The reality is that not every student is getting the support at home he or she needs and that’s when we have to do what we have to do to help. We know some are coming here with emotional burdens,” she remarked.

Atter attended Gardner High before getting her undergraduate degree at Worcester State and Masters at Fitchburg State. She acknowledged that being the top administrator in the build-ing carries a different set of challenges than did being a guidance counselor. To that end, she’s partnered with Mary Aker at Toy Town to ensure a smooth transition and connection between the district’s two elementary schools, including adding “consistency in ELA, math and science.”

Memorial has a winter reading challenge before the holiday break for K-2 students and events such as the twice-yearly concert nights, Dr. Seuss Week, bus and fire safety weeks along with the “Wear Orange” Bully Prevention Week are all utilized to expose students to school life outside the classroom walls.

“You have to try and put the politics and the economics aside,” Atter reflect-ed.

“You’re here, we’re all here for a reason and that’s helping our young students get a good start,” she stressed.

Michelle Atter

Murdock announces honor roll

Funding supplied for Benches project

that are funded at one percent above net school spending – the amount the state requires communities to spend on education – are mired at levels 3, 4, or 5. He said that, with the $300,000 override passed by voters in 2014, Winchendon falls into the one percent above NSS category.

He then explained that, of the $323,068 dollars the earlier override targets for the district in the next fiscal year, more than two-thirds is committed to helping retire the debt the town incurred in order to plug the more-than $3.5 million deficit discovered by an audit in late 2014.

“We need this override desperately,” he said.

Without it, said Haddad, the depart-

ment would lose several teachers and support staff.

Tina LeDuc Santos, who has children in the district, rose in support of the override, noting that improving local schools will also increase property val-ues in town. It was a sentiment echoed by Maureen Provost, whose son Aiden graduates this year, who added “the children of this town, whether you still have any in school or not, are all our children. They’re our future and they deserve our support.”

Homeowner Rick Lucier stood to make a point about the increase in the salaries of teachers and support staff.

“So, this isn’t all about the kids,” he said, a statement that drew a vocal neg-ative response from the audience.

With the approval of the article, the question now moves to the ballot. A special election is now scheduled for June 20.

Prior to the vote on the override, voters, by a margin of 81-19 percent, approved spending just over $13 mil-lion on education. When funds from the 2014 override, state aid, and a 2 ½ per-cent escalator are folded in, the amount for net school spending tops the $16.1 million mark.

In other action Monday, voters okayed a town government budget for FY18 of just over $15 million.

Also approved was the expenditure of $691,000 for the construction of a “sally port” to be added onto the rear of the new police station.

Town Manager Keith Hickey said the town had received a commitment of a $500,00 grant from the Robinson Broadhurst Foundation to help cover the cost of the project. In addition, $69,000 from a state 911 Support and Incentive Grant would be applied to the work. That leaves $122,000 to be provid-

ed through taxation. That amount will be spread out in equal parts over the next three fiscal years.

Police Chief David Walsh said the new facility is needed to help protect public safety, as well as the safety of officers, and the safety and privacy of prisoners being brought into the station for booking. The sally port will also contain an additional holding cell, booking and processing rooms, rooms for fingerprinting and forensics pro-cessing, and a several storage areas.

Two other big-ticket items approved by voters were a lease-purchase agree-ment to obtain a new pumper tank-er for the Fire Dept., at an estimated cost of $450,000 over five years, and a three-year lease-purchase agreement to secure a new ten-wheel dump truck, plow and sander body for the public works department. The cost is estimat-ed at around $230,000.

TOWNcontinued from page A1

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MYSTERY MONTH: May is “Mystery Month” at the Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon and the staff will be celebrating all month long with displays, raffles for newly released mystery nov-els, and an author’s visit from acclaimed mystery writer, Archer Mayor. To participate, all patrons have to do is check out a mystery novel during the month. All mystery lovers should drop by or call the library at (978) 297-0300 for more information.

Friday, May 19

OPENING NIGHT: GALA 2017 annual spring Art Show with live music opening reception and art awards 6-9 p.m. Show and reception at the American Legion Post 193, 295 School St. Show runs May 19-21. More info and to enroll, www.gal-agardner.org.

Saturday, May 20

OPERATION WINCHENDON CARES: Please join us at the American Legion Post 193 on School Street on Saturday, May 20 from 9-11 a.m. as we collect and package donations to send to our military members who have ties to the town of Winchendon. Please look on our Facebook page - Operation Winchendon Cares for more infor-mation or on our website - www.winchendoncares.com. We are always in need of monetary donations to help offset the costs of the cookies and postage.

Please remember that as the temperatures start to rise, do not drop off items that could melt, like chocolate.

TOY TOWN OUTDOOR MARKET: 126 Central St. on the lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Winchendon Thursdays 4-7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sunday, May 21

INDIVISIBLE WINCHENDON: The Indivisible Winchendon group meets every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Winchendon, 126 Central St. to discuss and orga-nize creative, effective resistance to the Trump administration over the long term. We are liberal/

progressive but non-partisan. https://www.facebook.com/groups/381174492262359/

Tuesday, May 23

LEARN: Computer classes for adults are offered on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Beals Memorial Library and are open to adults ages 18 and older.

CRAFT FOR ADULTS: On Tuesday nights at 6:30 Beals Memorial Library has an adult craft hour providing a place to meet and do crafts. People bring in things they are working on, and can get help on knitting, crocheting, quilting and discuss different ideas.

Wednesday, May 24

BINGO! Hyde Park residents hold bingo in the community hall every Wednesday night beginning at 6 p.m. It’s inexpensive, just two cards for 5¢, and the community is invited! Anyone over the age of 50 is welcome to join in. We’d love to have more players.

Thursday, May 25

TOY TOWN OUTDOOR MARKET: 126 Central St. on the lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Winchendon Thursdays 4-7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

OPEN MIC: at the American Legion Post 193, 295 School St. Beginning at 9 p.m. Like to sing? Play an instrument? Willing to jam with a few other musicians? Then come on down and join us at the lower level. Always a good time. Open to everyone! Non-smoking venue.

OUR NEIGHBOR’S KITCHEN: On Thursday, May 25 at Unitarian Universalist Church of Winchendon for a hearty dinner. Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. We can always use more volunteers! If you’d like to help with set-up, come to the church around 4 p.m. If you want to help with serving, come at around 5:15 p.m. so we can go over any special protocols for the night’s menu. Clean-up starts around 6:15 p.m. and is usually done shortly after 7 p.m. Volunteers have a chance to sit down to socialize and enjoy the meal.

Winchendon courier 3 Friday, May 19, 2017

Courier Capsules

PLANT SALEThe Winchendon Garden

Club is having a Plant and Bake Sale at the Winchendon History Culture Center Toy Museum, 135 Front St., on June 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most plants $5 or less. Local vendors selling outdoor dec-orative items. Proceeds fund our scholarship program and town plantings. Garden Club members will be on-site for free advice, tips and ideas.

ALUMNI SOFTBALLOn Friday, June 2 6-9 p.m.

at the American Legion Baseball Field, Murdock Alumni of all ages are encour-aged to participate in a just for fun softball game. Former participation in athletics is NOT a requirement, and there is no cost to participate, though donations are appre-ciated. If you wish to order a shirt, the price is $10 and must be ordered by May 22. Concessions will be available. All proceeds benefit Murdock Sports Boosters. TO register or for information contact Sue Polcari at (978) 257-5671 or [email protected]. Once a Blue Devil, always a Blue Devil!

S T U D E N T ACHIEVEMENT

WORCESTER— Amber Angelos of Winchendon was recognized with the Criminal Justice award, Forensics/Crime Scene Processing at the annual Academic Awards Ceremony at Becker College.

WORCESTER — Becker College announces its 2017 inductees into the Alpha Chi Honor Society, including Renee Rogers of Winchendon. Alpha Chi limits member-ship to the highest ten per-cent of full-time students in the junior and senior classes.

IT’S ALIVEToy Town Live, the always

popular talent show, is sched-

uled Tuesday, May 30 6-7:30 p.m.

GALA ART SHOWYou are invited to enjoy

wonderful art and fantastic live music at the Gardner Area League of Artists Spring Art Show! Friday Evening Opening Reception: Meet the artists and musicians and join us for the announcement of the judges’ awards at 7 pm. Free refreshments (cash bar available). Admission is free, but donations are encour-aged.

We have an exciting new event, The Off the Wall Art Sale,

offering framed 5x7 origi-nal artwork for just $60 and framed photographs for only $40!

GALA will also hold an art-work raffle and of course, you can purchase original art from the exhibit.The entire event, with live enter-tainment is at the American Legion, 295 School St.

Show HoursOpening Reception:

Friday, May 19, 6 - 9 p.m.; Saturday, May 20, 11 am - 5 pm; Sunday, May 21, noon - 4 pm. Raffle & People’s Choice Award winners announced on Sunday at 3:30 pm.

Murdock Alumni DinnerJune 3 at 6 p.m., Join in

a great Winchendon tradi-tion. Come have dinner with fellow alumni and commu-nity members. Celebrate a special year reunion along with scholarship recipients. Event if free of charge for Murdock High seniors only - family members are invited with purchase of tickets. Tickets $30 each. Contact Betty Blodgett to order tickets 978-297-2338 Proper dress required - dresses, dress pants, ties. Ceremony starts at 6pm - Seniors arrive at 5:30pm

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CLYDE’S CORNER

MAKING THE GRADE

Greg Vine photo

Beals Memorial Library Director Manuel King recently received his Master of Library and Information Sciences from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, GA. King and his wife Mary traveled to the Peach State, where he received his diplo-ma in a graduation ceremony last Friday. The former head of adult library services at Wheeler Memorial Library in Orange, he has served as Beals’ director since September of last year.


VIEWSOpinion and commentary from Winchendon and beyond

Editorial lEttErs to thE Editor

Time to decide

WinchEndon couriErPresident/Publisher: Frank Chilinski

editor: ruth deamiCis

To the Editor:Let me begin by thanking all of you

who took the time and cared enough to show up at Monday’s Town Meeting to demonstrate your support for this first step in the override process. More people showed up there than voted in the recent election. By coming Monday night, you gave your vote of confidence in our school system and in our goals. We are truly grateful.

The campaign is not over. In fact, it is just beginning. A larger effort lies ahead over the next month. We need you until Election Day on June 20th, to mobilize on behalf of our students and staff. It’s a cliché perhaps, to say it’s all about the kids, but clichés become clichés because they’re true.

So we need you not only to vote your-self, but we need you to get your family and friends to the polls as well. Make no mistake - the people who oppose this effort, the people who think education is overrated, or at least not important enough to fund appropriately - they’ll come out to vote. They always do. Always.

It’s not an exaggeration to say we really are at a crossroads. In the last few years, we’ve lost business classes, math and literacy coaches, our TV studio, industrial arts, administrators, teach-ers, para-professionals, an electrician, plumber, carpenter and groundskeeper. It’s hard to sustain those kinds of losses but we’ve persevered, students and staff alike.

We have students attending Harvard, Columbia, Smith, Tufts, Ohio State, Northeastern, as well as Fitchburg State, UMass, Franklin Pierce, and Mount Wachusett Community College. These students have gone on to careers or on their way to careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, social workers, computer technicians and teachers, to say nothing of the very valuable build-ing trades and serving our country in our all-volunteer military.

The Murdock Academy for Success is just that, a success. We have more Advanced Placement courses than our neighboring districts. Our student council has twice in a row been award-ed the state’s Gold Excellence Award. A middle school teacher was honored as the state’s Student Council Advisor of

the Year. A high school science teacher was named an Advanced Placement Teacher of Excellence. An elementary school teacher was honored with the sec-retary of state’s award of Excellence for Energy and Environmental Education.

Our extended day and after school programs, over the last 13 years, have averaged 120 students participating, and the best part is that it offers home-work support. Sports? Seven years ago, 143 students were scattered across our teams. Now it’s 225, and our kids are really competitive.

We have had great performances this year in our theater of “Grease”, “Seussical Jr.”, and “The Jungle Book”. We have had great concerts performed by students at every grade level high-lighted with our 2nd graders singing the Murdock School Song with fist pumps included.

So much of this and so much more, is at risk now. The truth is - our existence as an independent school district might well be jeopardized if this override fails. We can only absorb so many cuts before we are no longer able to provide our students with the kind of quali-ty education they deserve and which we owe both them and our communi-ty. That’s not an empty election time threat. That’s economic reality.

When you look at what we’ve achieved, when you look at what our students are accomplishing, at what our faculty and support staff are doing, it’s crystal clear that nay-sayers to the contrary, our school system is trend-ing very much in the right direction. Together we’re building and growing a system which is enabling our students to compete effectively with their peers from anywhere in an increasingly com-petitive environment.

This momentum needs to continue to accelerate. All of us are invested in our school system, as administrators, teachers, staff, neighbors and above all, as citizens who want to see our children succeed. Your vote will decide whether this will happen. I absolutely believe our kids have earned and deserve that vote. Please vote yes for the override on June 20th.

suPerintendent steve haddadWinChendon PubliC sChoolsss

Haddad: Override Vote Thank You

Dickens: politics brings out best… and worst

Anderson: thank you voters

To the editor:I wear many hats here in town. I

work on this committee, that commit-tee, I book music, and I even used to substitute at the schools before I got my newest job. But sometimes, I approach the community asking it to ponder political questions. I believe what the late Howard Zinn often said: “you can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train.”

I like to drive people to the polls, talk up candidates for office, and hold up signs around elections. In 2017, how-ever, my friends and I arranged a cit-izen’s petition to go before the town at town meeting. This referendum is a non-binding resolution to ask our U.S. Representatives and Senators to support a congressional inquiry regard-ing the impeachment of our President, Donald Trump.

In order to talk to the public about this, I decided to get off Facebook! I painted a sign, bright red, with white letters reading, “ask me how to impeach Trump.” I knew I might catch some flack for it, but I had a stronger feeling that I might make some friends — or at least have some interesting conversa-tions. Unfortunately, on the day I stood downtown with the sign, the bulk of my interactions were shameful to the town of Winchendon. They were cruel, disgusting, and bordered on the violent.

I was given the middle finger by no less than a dozen passing motorists, some of whom I recognized. Someone drove by and yelled “hipster trash.” Someone leaned out their window and yelled, and I’ll have to doctor my lan-guage here, “hey, you effing snowflake, get a job.” I work full time...but I get what the guy was saying. Who doesn’t hate snowflakes here in New England, especially after this past winter?

To top it off, a young adult came up to me within my arm’s length, and told me that if I knew what was good for me, that I would leave. He began to swear at me and call me names. He said “if I were you, I would get moving, right now.”

I replied, “I bet you would, because you don’t seem like the kind of person that can actually talk to someone that you disagree with without swearing at them and trying to intimidate them. If you were me, you wouldn’t even be out here in the first place. If I were you, I would get moving, since I’m not afraid of you whatsoever.”

I didn’t think that up in the shower after, that is what I said! He threw more slurs and pejoratives at me and went on his way. I shouted across the parking lot, “it’s easier to be awful than it is to be kind.”

As I mentioned at the beginning of this writing, I knew that I would have people give me the business. I caught middle fingers while campaigning for Bernie Sanders during the primary sea-son in the spring of 2016. But never did someone swear at me loudly, and never did someone come up and try to physi-cally intimidate me because of a sign I was holding.

Donald Trump has identified him-self as the “law and order” President. I would like to see his followers whom I met begin to better exemplify those ideals in the way they treat their fellow townspeople. It’s not very orderly to shout swears and obscene language out of your car’s window, and it certainly isn’t lawful to use your body to intimi-date people holding signs.

I would like to call on the Courier’s readers to condemn and repudiate these types of actions. I know that tempers are high these days, and that protestors of all political affiliations have been acting poorly here in the U.S. But, I refuse to let it occur in my hometown without speaking up. The only bright side to this whole ordeal is that I did indeed make friends, just as I thought I would, and they’re going to go vote for the referendum.

brian diCkensWinChendon

To the Editor:I would like to personally thank the

residents of Winchendon for taking the time to come to the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 15th. The Town Meeting is the last bastion of a Direct Democracy, where everyone is entitled to voice their opinion and know that when they cast their vote, it is counted and every vote matters. It is imperative that the residents take the time and make the effort to attend these meetings and contribute their ideas and opinions. I was also deeply disappoint-ed with the behavior and lack of respect that was shown. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should be able to question or advocate openly without fear of reprisal from an unruly forum. You don’t have to agree with a speaker, but you must be respectful, listen and wait for your chance for a rebuttal. We call that civil discourse, and it is essential.

A resident requested that members of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee explain why they did not support the override request of the School Department. Unfortunately, the audience became loud and disorderly and the moderator chose to end discus-sion, rather than inflame the situation. I would like to take this opportunity to explain my decision to not recommend this override.

When I was elected to the Board of Selectmen two years ago, the Town of Winchendon was experiencing an eco-nomic disaster that could have proven fatal to our community. A brand new Board of Selectmen was elected, a brand new School Committee was elected, and a new Town Manager and new School Superintendent was hired. This was our opportunity to correct some issues and start fresh. Public trust in our local government needed to be restored and we realized that was something that needed to be earned, and wouldn’t be given freely. Everyone on the Board of Selectmen has worked incredibly hard scrutinizing numbers, questioning every department head that requested money or equipment. We have done our best to keep within or below the well-crafted budgets that Mr. Hickey and his staff had created.

Unfortunately, in order to succeed, the town needed to borrow money with the help of the Department of Revenue. That money must be paid back. It is irrelevant that we did not create the debt, but we are entrusted with the responsibility of paying it back. The town did not incur this debt on its own; the School Department also helped to create the financial set-back. The School Department is also charged with repaying its portion of this debt. I was astounded when the Superintendent stated that he wasn’t aware that the schools would also be held responsible. Fortunately, Mr. Hickey has been able to work within his budget and negotiate town employees a small raise. Yes, it isn’t nearly as much as we would have liked to have negotiated, because the town employees have pulled together and worked hard throughout our finan-cial struggle. It was responsible and Mr. Hickey made sure that it was within his budget.

The School Department negotiated raises before anticipating their budget; I don’t think that was responsible. We had to delay meetings because they did not complete their audit on time. We also scheduled tri-board meetings with the Finance Committee, School Committee and Board of Selectmen with the express purpose of going over budgets, yet the only budget prepared on time was the town budget. We had to re-schedule an additional meeting at a later date to accommodate the School Department. I resent that a member of the School Committee argued that the town is purchasing new equipment for the other departments, but seldom comes to the aid of the schools. The 3rd Article in the Town Warrant was to ask that the town pay $55,000 in outstanding prior year bills incurred by the school. Mr. Hickey had to include that in his budget as well. Mr. Hickey was also able to locate funds and asked the Board of Selectmen if they would allocate those to the schools, who were struggling. The Board of Selectmen voted unani-mously to allocate an additional $57,000 to the schools that is over and above net school spending, override monies and the outstanding bill balance. The town has been more than willing to help whenever fiscally possible.

Furthermore, the residents of the Town of Winchendon have seen a 2 ½% increase in their tax rate, plus they also must pay for the $300,000 override for the schools which passed in 2014, plus the debt exclusion debt for the Police Department and ladder truck for the Fire Department that continue to increase taxes even beyond the obliga-tory 2 ½%. The trivializing suggestion that a new override would be merely a cup of coffee does not account for the fact that residents are still paying on many additions to the tax levy that adds up to many cups of coffee. I do not feel that adding to that tax burden at this time is prudent. We are still trying to prove ourselves and trying to earn the public’s trust. Even though I feel badly for the School Department, I also feel that this is somewhat of a self-inflicted wound. It irritates me that the answer to not getting an override is to threat-en to kill the programs that kids look forward to the most and layoff the most popular teachers. This rips at the heart-strings of the very students they are try-ing to protect. It is ethically unwise for the school to use the all call system to alert residents to the override dilemma, it was unwise to use the school musical to push a political agenda.

The Finance Committee has articu-lated their feelings at every meeting. I usually watch from home, but I also like to attend when I am able. The Board of Selectmen has also allotted a significant amount of time to discussing the issue. I would encourage anyone who is inter-ested in hearing what either board has to say to either tune in to channel 8 on Monday or Tuesday evening, or come down to Town Hall. We would welcome your company and your input.

barbara anderson, ChairmanWinChendon board oF seleCtmen

On June 20 more people get a chance to weigh in on a decision to give more money for expenses for the school sys-tem in Winchendon.

There will be a bevy letters both pro and con we are certain, the first couple are already here this week.

And this is entirely in the hands of individual voters, who know their own family’s circumstances and whether they can pony up more money in their taxes each year.

So, no matter how deeply you may feel one way or the other about the issue, remember you do not pay your neighbor’s bills. You do not get to decide for them whether they can do it or not.

And they do not need to be shamed or ridiculed for the decisions they make.

We hope, on the other hand, they do weight the decision based on mone-tary concerns as well as their hearts, because it is very easy to get caught up in rhetoric and make hasty decisions based on likes and dislikes; either of circumstances or individuals; of others whose views you don’t or do like; of fear even of being thought different than those around you who are either “for” or “against” something.

We have way too much of that in our polarized public arena already.

This decision is, yes, ultimately for the education and keeping educators in front of our classrooms and for teaching materials and for athletics and art pro-

grams and all the rest.It may also boil down to keeping

Murdock High School as its own indi-vidual and separate entity.

Because the reality is, the hard truth is, trying to keep such a small high school afloat is expensive. Perhaps TOO expensive for Winchendon by itself.

It is a time honored, tradition based school that still holds a true promenade each spring, that has one of the best alumni organizations we’ve ever seen, that has an amazing pride of place and exceptional alumni themselves who are eager to prove coming from a small town doesn’t detract from being able to make it, and make it darn good, in the world.

It has its detractors too.It is “MudRock” to many. It is dissed

by those who have abandoned it to attend schools in other towns (most of which have their own bevy of problems and aren’t one darn bit better, just dif-ferent), and the ultimate downer, the home of WinchenTucky itself.

So let’s NOT make this decision based on primal whines; let’s think it through. Do we want to become part of a regional school district? We won’t have as much control if we do.

Do we want to continue to struggle with state unfunded mandates to the detriment of the education of the kids?

www.TheHeartOfMassachusetts.com

Turn To DECIDE page A5

could certainly use the help. There are files to be updated and organized, and plenty of other work that could be done in the office.”

Bohan explained that anyone hired by the commission would be limited to working 19 to 19 ½ hours per week.

“If we gave them 20 hours, we’d also have to provide them with benefits – and we certainly wouldn’t have the funds to do that.

When Cumberland Farms first proposed demolishing the old Joseph’s variety store build-ing and the adjacent Fairbank House to make way for its new

store, the commission imposed a one-year moratorium on the project; a move allowed under state law. The panel not only wanted time to explore the fea-sibility of saving the historic structures, it also wanted the convenience store chain to design a new store which would be compatible with the historic aesthetic of the town’s retail core. In addition, the commis-sion sought the $10,000 grant to help preserve the traditional look of downtown Winchendon as economic development efforts kicked into high gear.

In the end, Cumberland Farms redesigned the new store to mimic the appearance of the Joseph building. Other appoint-ments in and around the build-ing were also designed to give a

more historic look to the devel-opment, including lighting sim-ilar to that now in front of town hall and fencing that fits better with the town’s appearance, rather than the plain, utilitar-ian look of hurricane fencing, for example. The interior of the store will also include enlarged copies of historical photographs of Winchendon.

In response to a question, Bohan said he had been told by representatives of Cumberland Farms that it was not unusu-al for the company to provide historic preservation grants to communities where new stores or store upgrades had been undertaken.

It is expected that the new Cumberland Farms will be opening its doors by Labor Day.

GRANTcontinued from page A1

The vast majority of Americans have never heard the name Raymond Kaplan. In fact, only historians whose field of study covers a very specific era in U.S. history are likely to recognize the name of this man, who passed from this earth on March 6, 1953. He was one of the most tragic victims of one of the most disgraceful periods in our nation has ever lived through.

In 1950, the main propagan-da arm of the United State government, the Voice of America, was the third largest communications network on the globe, behind only Radio Moscow and the BBC. It had been established by executive order in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II and was greatly expanded as the Cold War heated up during the administration of Pres. Harry Truman. By 1953, it had 75 transmitting stations spread across four continents. With programs broadcast in 46 lan-guages and dialects, it reached an estimated 300 million people worldwide.

On Feb. 16, 1953, the infamous communist-hunter (he never found any), Sen. Joe McCarthy, launched an investigation into alleged communist infiltration of the VOA. The Wisconsin Republican, who had seized upon the “communists -in-gov-

ernment” issue in a desperate – and successful – effort to win re-election in 1952, had doubts about the advisability of locat-ing two powerful transmitters (known as Baker One and Baker Two) on either coast of the U.S.; one in Seattle, the other on the coast of North Carolina.

As it turned out, however, it appeared the transmitters as designed would not gener-ate the power needed to beam America’s version of the truth into the Soviet Union, as they were meant to. But instead of chalking up the problem to errors in engineering and math-ematical calculation, McCarthy and his trusted aide, New York attorney Roy Cohn, decided the flaw was anything but acciden-tal. It must have been, they pos-ited, the work of communists and “pink” employees working in and for the VOA.

Because McCarthy had gained a reputation for employ-ing intimidation, innuendo, outright threats, and for play-ing fast and loose with his ver-sion of “the truth,” the State Dept. suspended work on the Baker project the day after the hearings had begun.

“In the end” – writes David Oshinsky in his book “A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy,” – “the Battle of the Bakers cost some men their jobs and one man his life.”

Raymond Kaplan, a liai-son between the Research Electronics Laboratory and VOA, had played a role in the development of the Baker transmitters. Afraid he would

be called to testify before McCarthy’s committee, Kaplan threw himself threw himself in front of a fast-moving truck in Cambridge, Mass. The news surprised McCarthy, who said Kaplan had been cooperative, adding that he “had expressed the desire to appear and testi-fy.”

In a note left for his wife, Kaplan implored, “I have not done anything in my job which I did not think was in the best interest of my country….When the dogs are set on you, every-thing you have done since the beginning of time is suspect….I have never done anything that I consider wrong but I can’t take the pressure on my shoulders any longer….I love you and David beyond life itself. You are innocent victims of unfortunate circumstances….I can say no more now.”

Raymond Kaplan deserves to be remembered. He is a remind-er, if we care to pay attention, that the blind pursuit of power, influence, and attention – espe-cially when carried out by someone already in a position of great power (the greatest, perhaps) – can have tragic unin-tended consequences; even fatal consequences. We must guard against the powerful setting their dogs on anyone, particu-larly those with very little or no power; religious minorities, members of the LGBTQ com-munity, immigrants, and eth-nic minorities are just a few who come to mind.

The difficulty is getting those – or the one – in power to give a damn.


We know we HAVE to do these things, and they all cost, and the money must be provided from somewhere.

Just as at home, costs do spiral, do we want to continue to cut, and cut, and cut until there is nothing left? Or do we really look at the programs that will best benefit the KIDS themselves and see if we can’t fund them to the best of our ability.

We do need to pay the teachers, we do need custodians, we do need people in the classrooms in order to TEACH. That is part of the cost of schooling.

We are now talking about how much, and who is going to control it, ultimate-ly.

And it is up to each of you to decide.

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More than an historical footnote

GREGVINE

…And one more thing…

How did we get here anyway?Let me pose the obvi-

ous question — how the hell did we get here anyway? I’m still stunned by Donald Trump’s victory last fall but then again, I’m still stunned that Richard Nixon carried 49 states in 1972. I’m still stunned that a guy most of you have never heard of was the Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland in 1966 and that matters because it was about then when we started the descent into the proverbial contemporary briar patch.

By 1966, we’d done nowhere near enough to honestly address the Original Sin which had by that time divided us for some 300 or so years. The frequently brilliant Founders, in the long run, did their descendants no favors with the 3/5th Compromise, but in the context of the times that was the only route to ratification of the Constitution. The Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 did nothing but further inflame passions. And then, of course came war and Reconstruction and Jim Crow laws and the KKK and all the rest.

Sitting on the edge of the Mason-Dixon Line, Maryland’s political loyal-ties were often divided and segregation-ists roamed freely. There were riots in Cambridge. Then came 1966.

One of those ardent, and frankly not

very bright, segrega-tionists named George Mahoney managed to win the Democratic primary with all of 34-percent of the vote, the remaining 66-per-cent being split exact-ly evenly between two rational humans named Tom Finan, the state’s Attorney General and

Carlton Sickles, a congressman. Non racist Democrats, my parents among them, were horrified. Luckily, there was an alternative.

Enter the Republican nominee, Baltimore County Executive Spiro Theodore Agnew and liberal and mod-erate voters swung to him in droves. In 1966, Agnew wasn’t the fire-breath-ing anti-intellectual wordsmith he would become as Richard Nixon’s Vice-President. Before 1968, which was when Agnew was stung by the Baltimore riots in the aftermath of Dr. King’s assassi-nation and left at the alter by Nelson Rockefeller after inviting reporters in to watch Rocky announce for President except Rockefeller declared himself out, before all that Agnew was a genuine progressive. He convinced the over-whelmingly Democratic and in 1967 none too liberal state legislature to pass Maryland’s first-ever open housing law.

But 1968 did happen. Class and race warfare were out in the open. Everyone

had seen the riots in the South. And North. Vietnam had divided the coun-try. The previously solid Democratic South had massively gone for Goldwater in 1964 and that was just the start.

Nixon saw an opening that year and not all that subtly appealed to white anger and yes white racism and when he squeaked out a win, that opened the floodgates. Since then, almost every Republican presidential candidate has, sometimes subtly and sometimes not, appealed to that same base and last year Trump was able to add pissed off blue-collar white workers and there you have it in a nutshell.

In the meantime, when cable televi-sion came around, the now ubiquitous 24/7 scream-fests began to take hold. When dark money began to pour into campaign coffers, members of Congress began spending so much time dialing for dollars they became personally estranged from one another. It’s hard-er to demonize someone when your kids go to school with theirs. And then arrived social media and the dam of civility burst and so here we are.

All that said, by no means are all politicians rascals nor is every white Republican racist. Both those points should be obvious but in our rush to lazily categorize people, both those sen-timents often seem to dominate what passes for debate and discussion and saner, rational voices too often get lost in the shouting matches which in turn

helps fuel the cynicism. I’ve known plenty of pols on both sides of the aisle and almost all of them are deeply patri-otic, open to compromise, and don’t see the other side as the enemy as opposed to the opponent. Sadly, that ilk is get-ting swallowed up by crazy primaries funded by who-knows-who.

I’ve written before there is a seg-ment of the populace you can’t reason with. We have to isolate them in their extremist shrillness and figure out a way to communicate among the rest of us. Local and state elections seem like the logical places to start where partisanship is real but not as frenzied as it is on the federal level. Maybe if we can start there, maybe someday we’ll live to see that gradually rise to include federal elections. Maybe even next year. After all, when people’s lives might literally be at stake, they just might be willing to take up electoral arms against the people who promised them paradise and delivered nothing of the sort. Maybe, just maybe, enough voters will stand up for themselves and even if that doesn’t happen in enough congres-sional races, perhaps it will at home where the stakes are tangible?

At least we can hope. Otherwise, the very future of the Republic is quite ten-uous. No joke. See you next week.

JERRY CARTON

Journey of the heArt

TheHeartOfMassachusetts.com

DECIDEcontinued from page A1


Editor’s Note: The information con-tained in this police log was obtained through public documents kept by the police department, and is considered to be the account of the police. All subjects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

TUESDAY, MAY 912:22 a.m.: building checked, secure;

12:23 a.m.: ambulance (Elmwood Rd.), transported; 12:41-2:12 a.m.: building checks, secure; 2:14 a.m.: assist citizen (River St.); 2:32 a.m.: mv stop (Central St.), spoken to; 6:04 a.m.: warrant arrest (Otter River Rd.), unable to locate; 7:54 a.m.: ambulance (Central St.), transported; 8:16 a.m.: warrant check (Central St.), Lawrence Doucette, 43, 306 Central St., #6, Winchendon, warrant arrest; 9:12 a.m.: sex offend-er registration (Teel Rd.), spoken to; 9:18 a.m.: 911 hang up (Central St.), unfounded; 9:42 a.m.: burglar alarm (Maple St.), canceled; 10:49 a.m.: sum-mons service (Robbins Rd.), unable to serve; 11:01 a.m.: summons service (Hale St.), unable to serve; 11:07 a.m.: court (Matthews St., Gardner), info taken; 11:29 a.m.: juvenile/general (Oakland St.), report taken; 12:50 p.m.: animal complaint (Cummings Rd.), referred to ACO; 3:26 p.m.: suspicious person (Spring St.), spoken to; 3:29 p.m.: assist citizen (Spruce St.); 3:32 p.m.: wires down (Spruce St.), ser-vices rendered; 4:07 p.m.: assist citi-zen (Central St.), 4:15 p.m.: summons service (Hale St.), served; 5:21 p.m.: property found (Central St.), returned to owner; 5:52 p.m.: mv stop (Central St.), spoken to; 6:20 p.m.: erratic oper-ation (Spring St.), services rendered; 6:28 p.m.: burglary/b&e (Spruce St.), report taken; 6:49 p.m.: investigation (Mellen Rd.), services rendered; 8:02 p.m.: animal complaint (Prospect St.), referred to ACO; 8:20 p.m.: annoying phone calls (Baldwinville State Rd.), spoken to; 8:39 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), spoken to; 8:48 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), citation issued; 10:53 p.m.: missing person (Lake Dennison), unable to locate.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1012:26 a.m.: traffic hazard (Gardner

Rd.), removed; 12:41-12:52 a.m.: build-ings checked, secure; 12:52 a.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), secure; 12:57-1:32 a.m.: buildings checked, secure; 3:37 a.m.: harassment (Bluebird Rd.), report taken; 5:18 a.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), citation issued; 5:29 a.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), citation issued; 7:33 a.m.: info/general (Spruce St.), assisted; 8:20 a.m.: animal complaint (Ash St.), referred to ACO; 8:34 a.m.: welfare check (Bluebird Rd.), spoken to; 9:07 a.m.: investigation (Spring St.), spoken to; 9:13 a.m.: traffic hazard (Central St.), referred; 9:24 a.m.: cus-tody dispute (Bayberry Cir.), spoken to; 10:46 a.m.: assist citizen (Mill Cir.), gone on arrival; 11:40 a.m.: unattended death (Jackson Ave.), services ren-dered; 11:43 a.m.: info/general (Central St.), spoken to; 11:50 a.m.: sex offender registration (Central St.), info taken; 12:00 p.m.: summons service (Pine St.), served; 12:21 p.m.: animal complaint (Lincoln Ave.), referred to ACO; 12:28 p.m.: traffic hazard (Spring & Ash) gone on arrival; 12:38 p.m.: suspicious person (Congress Rd.), gone on arrival; 1:04 p.m.: suspicious person (Central St.), spoken to; 1:17 p.m.: ambulance (Webster St.), transported; 3:41 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), verbal warning; 4:37 p.m.: accident (Old Winchendon Rd.), info taken; 4:47 p.m.: mv stop (Central St.), citation issued; 5:00 p.m.: animal call (River St.), info given; 5:18 p.m.: ambulance (Main St.), transport-ed; 5:37 p.m.: investigation (Maynard St.), services rendered; 5:41 p.m.: suspi-cious person (Lake Dennison), unable to locate; 6:06 p.m.: assault (Glenallan St.), report taken; 6:38 p.m.: ambulance (Rte. 202, Rindge), transported; 7:24 p.m.: ambulance (Laurel St.), trans-ported; 7:50 p.m.: registration check (Central St.), verbal warning; 8:04 p.m.: ambulance (E. Monomonac Rd.),

transported; 8:18 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), verbal warning; 9:03 p.m.: mv stop (Central St.), citation issued; 9:34 p.m.: lift assist (Front St.), services rendered; 10:32 p.m.: threats (Juniper St.), report taken; 11:08 p.m.: threats (Juniper St.), spoken to.

THURSDAY, MAY 1112:08-12:55 a.m.: buildings checked,

secure; 12:58 a.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), spoken to; 2:18-2:26 a.m.: build-ings checked, secure; 2:28 a.m.: inves-tigation (School St.), secure; 2:38 a.m.: investigation (Beech St.), spoken to; 2:46 a.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), citation issued; 6:01 a.m.: b&e mv (Monadnock Ave.), report taken; 8:14 a.m.: investigation (Central St.), info taken; 9:14 a.m.: fraud (Lakeview Dr.), report taken; 10:13 a.m.: fraud (West St.), report taken; 11:21 a.m.: inves-tigation (Oakland St.), report taken; 11:25 a.m.: property found (Central St.), returned to owner; 2:02 p.m.: mv stop (Elm & Maple), citation issued; 3:25 p.m.: officer wanted (Franklin St.), spoken to; 4:04 p.m.: b&e mv (Tucker St.), report taken; 4:43 p.m.: property found (Linden St.), returned to owner; 5:58 p.m.: welfare check (Hale St.), spo-ken to; 6:42 p.m.: ambulance (Central St.), transported; 6:51 a.m.: ambulance (Ipswich Dr.), transported; 6:53 p.m.: assist other PD (Pearl Dr.); 8:55 p.m.: abandoned 911 call (Ipswich Dr.), Stephanie Mattson, 34, 6 Goodrich Dr., Winchendon, trespassing; 10:00 p.m.: accident (River St.), report taken; 11:56-11:58 p.m.: buildings checked, secure.

FRIDAY, MAY 121:09-3:57 a.m.: buildings checked,

secure; 7:28 a.m.: property damage (Elmwood Rd.), report taken; 9:39 a.m.: mv stop (Central St.), verbal warning; 9:46 a.m.: officer wanted (Front St.), spoken to; 9:51 a.m.: illegal dumping (Glenallan St.), spoken to; 10:16 a.m.: assist other agency (Spruce St.); 10:38 a.m.: ambulance (Hyde Park Dr.), trans-ported; 10:52 a.m.: mv stop (School St.), written warning; 11:06 a.m.: animal complaint (Bayberry Cir.), referred to ACO; 11:24 a.m.: investigation (Central St.), citation issued; 11:57 a.m.: mv

stop (Front & Lincoln), citation issued; 12:22 p.m.: property found (River & Brooks), returned; 12:37 p.m.: ambu-lance (Brown St.), transported; 12:54 p.m.: summons service (Lincoln Ave.), unable to serve; 12:58 p.m.: summons service (River St.), served; 1:03 p.m.: summons service (Spruce St.), unable to serve; 1:04 p.m.: summons service (Pearl St.), unable to serve; 1:34 p.m.: summons service (Mill St.), unable to serve; 1:46 p.m.: summons service (Maple St.), served; 2:08 p.m.: aban-doned auto (Mellen Rd.), info taken; 3:09 p.m.: suspicious person (Lincoln Ave. Ext.), unable to locate; 3:35 p.m.: assist other agency (Grove St.), trans-port; 4:53 p.m.: erratic operation (W. Monomonac Rd.), unable to locate; 5:54 p.m.: officer wanted (Oak St.), assisted; 6:54 p.m.: larceny (Mechanic St.), report taken; 6:58 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), written warning; 7:56 p.m.: ambulance (Alger St.), transport-ed; 8:56 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), verbal warning; 9:01 p.m.: disable auto (Gardner Rd.), spoken to; 9:15 p.m.: unattended death (Spruce St.), report taken; 9:21 p.m.: illegal burn (Maynard St.), no service necessary; 10:25 p.m.: officer wanted (Spring St.), spoken to; 11:09 p.m.: erratic operation (Mechanic St.), report taken; 11:50 p.m.: burglar alarm (Central St.), secure.

SATURDAY, MAY 131:29 a.m.: welfare check (Spring

St.), secure; 1:39-3:24 a.m.: buildings checked, secure; 3:25 a.m.: mental health issue (Ash St.), section 12; 6:24 a.m.: domestic (Glenallan St.), report taken; 9:12 a.m.: road rage (Gardner Rd.), spoken to; 9:50 a.m.: ambulance (Main St.), transported; 10:46 a.m.: mv stop (School St.), spoken to; 11:03 a.m.: erratic operation (Glenallan St.), spo-ken to; 11:14 a.m.: animal complaint (Juniper St.), referred to ACO; 11:23 a.m.: property found (Central St.), report taken; 11:33 a.m.: larceny (Pearl St.), report taken; 11:40 a.m.: custody dispute (Bayberry Cir.), spoken to; 12:12 p.m.: mv stop (Forristall Rd.), spoken to; 12:15 p.m.: suspicious per-son (Elmwood Rd.), unable to locate; 12:20 p.m.: mv stop (Elmwood Rd.),

spoken to; 12:23 p.m.: accident (Brown & River), report taken; 12:33 p.m.: info/general (Mill Glen Rd.), advised officer; 12:53 p.m.: ambulance (Royalston Rd. No.), services rendered; 1:58 p.m.: ani-mal complaint (Goodrich & Central), search negative; 2:42 p.m.: threats (Spring St.), spoken to; 3:29 p.m.: inves-tigation (Pearl St.), info given; 5:43 p.m.: domestic (Linden St.), report taken; 5:59 p.m.: ambulance (Spring St.), transported; 5:59 p.m.: erratic operation (Alger & Baldwinville State Rd.), advised officer; 6:05 p.m.: info/general (Central St.), report taken; 6:25 p.m.: officer wanted (Doyle Ave.), no cause; 6:33 p.m.: ambulance (Stoddard Rd.), transported; 8:44 p.m.: ambu-lance (Central St.), transported; 9:21 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), citation issued; 9:49 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), written warning; 10:01 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), citation issued; 11:36 p.m.: noise complaint (Pearl Dr.), spo-ken to; 11:46 p.m.: assist citizen (Pearl Dr.), spoke to.

SUNDAY, MAY 1412:35-2:55 a.m.: buildings checked,

secure; 3:07 a.m.: info/general (Central St.), info taken; 3:09 a.m.: registration check (Benjamin St.), spoken to; 3:36 a.m.: building checked, secure; 6:03 a.m.: ambulance (Vaine St.), trans-ported; 9:37 a.m.: erratic operation (Glenallan St.), info taken; 10:11 a.m.: info general (Central St.), info taken; 1:23 p.m.: animal complaint (Central St.), referred to ACO; 2:18 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), Joshua Hawkins, 39, 5 Bemis Rd., Winchendon, OUI liquor, negligent operation; 3:16 p.m.: warrant check (Happy Hollow Rd.), info taken; 3:53 p.m.: ambulance (Hyde Park Dr.), transported; 4:06 p.m.: errat-ic operation (Central St.), unable to locate; 4:15 p.m.: harassment (Spruce St.), report taken; 5:13 p.m.: burglar alarm (Front St.), no service necessary; 5:50 p.m.: assist citizen (Juniper St.), report taken; 6:00 p.m.: mv stop (Pearl Dr.), spoken to; 7:27 p.m.: domestic (Baldwinville Rd.), services rendered; 8:16 p.m.: suspicious auto (Railroad St.), report taken; 8:22 p.m.: disabled auto (Front & School), services ren-dered; 8:32 p.m.: assist citizen (Central St.); 9:21 p.m.: mv stop (Spring St.), ser-vices rendered; 9:37 p.m.: suspicious (other) (Mechanic St.), report taken; 9:52 p.m.: welfare check/child (Mill Glen Rd.), report taken; 10:24 p.m.: assist citizen (Pleasant St.); 11:22 p.m.: animal complaint (Oak St.), services rendered; 11:42 p.m.: mv stop (Gardner Rd.), citation issued.

MONDAY, MAY 1512:16-12:42 a.m.: buildings checked,

secure; 1:49 a.m.: mv stop (Juniper St.), Emanuel Biaggi, 31, 712 River St., Winchendon, carrying a dangerous weapon, possession Class B drug; 4:34 a.m.: traffic hazard (Baldwinville Rd.), services rendered: 6:49 a.m.: unwant-ed party (School St.), advised civil action; 10:23 a.m.: disturbance (Mill St.), report taken; 11:04 a.m.: property lost (Central St.), report taken; 11:25 a.m.: abandoned 911 call (North St.), secure; 12:16 p.m.: larceny (Main St.), report taken; 12:31 p.m.: assist citi-zen (Baldwinville State Rd.); 1:03 p.m.: unwanted party (Juniper St.), spoken to; 1:07 p.m.: ambulance (Monadnock Ave.), transported; 1:11 p.m.: animal complaint (Fourth St.), spoken to; 1:38 p.m.: ambulance (Mill St.), trans-ported; 2:59 p.m.: assist citizen (Pearl Dr.); 3:19 p.m.: DPW call (Hyde Park St.), referred; 3:39 p.m.: 911 hang up (Central St.), transported; 5:28 p.m.: larceny (Central St.), report taken; 5:32 p.m.: burglar alarm (Spring St.), secured building; 5:53 p.m.: info/gen-eral (Central St.), spoken to; 6:56 p.m.: animal complaint (Mill Glen Rd.), services rendered; 9:01 p.m.: accident (Rte. 12), report taken; 9:48 p.m.: info/general (Central St.), info taken; 9:56 p.m.: info/general (Central St.), info taken; 10:12 p.m.: info/general (Main St.), info taken; 10:19 p.m.: threats (Phyllis Rd.), report taken.

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Motor vehicle stop leads to arrest


A motor vehicle stop early Monday morning led to the arrest of a Winchendon man on drug and weap-ons charges.

Shortly before 2 a.m., Winchendon Officer Caleb Similia reportedly had to pull his cruiser far to the right in order to avoid a vehicle driving toward him down the cen-ter of Goodrich Street. The officer turned his vehicle around and fol-lowed the other car onto Jackson Avenue., where he turned on his blue lights in an attempt to stop the vehi-cle. According to Similia’s report, however, the driver didn’t pull over until turning onto Juniper Street. The report further states that Similia observed the passenger throw some-thing out of the window.

After the two occupants exited the 2011 Nissan Rogue, upon the officer’s instructions, the passenger asked why they had been stopped. Similia explained that it was for failing to stay to the right on Goodrich Street.

Similia reports that as he approached the passenger side of the car, he observed a plastic bag con-taining a small amount of “a white substance” on the ground. When he asked, both people denied any

knowledge of the bag and its con-tents, which Similia suspected to be crack cocaine.

The passenger — identified as Emanuel Biaggi, age 31, of 712 River St., Winchendon — was then placed in the back of Similia’s cruiser. According to the police report, it was at that time that Biaggi admitted the bag was his.

The driver, Dawn Bednarczyk of the same address, reportedly told the officer she had taken Biaggi to see one of his friends, who lived on Goodrich Street. She denied knowing anything about the suspected drugs.

The police report further states that, during a search of the vehicle, Sgt. Daniel Wolski found a pair of brass knuckles. Bednarczyk alleged-ly told the officers they belonged to Biaggi.

After determining the woman was not impaired, he allowed Bednarczyk to drive home.

Biaggi was held and charged with possession of a Class B drug (crack cocaine) and possession of a dan-gerous weapon. He was arraigned Monday in Winchendon District Court in Gardner and released on personal recognizance. A pretrial conference was scheduled for June 28.

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exactly when? Who knows? Winchendon celebrated its 250th birthday three years ago. Are we talking the 1700s, early 1800s? Greenwood’s book, which appears to be as close as can be found to being the town’s defining history, doesn’t say. For that matter, law enforcement didn’t appear to be strictly secular, either. Greenwood’s work suggests ministers played a role in meting out punishments as well.

By the 1880s something resembling what would become a contemporary police force was taking shape and Robert Callahan was serving as what was known as a “constable,” a term possibly brought from Europe. Callahan, a legendary fig-ure in town history, was appointed chief of the three man force in 1890 and served until his mandatory age-70 retirement in 1937. It was during his tenure the size of the force tripled to nine officers who cov-ered the town strictly on foot patrol since the department wouldn’t acquire its first car until the year Callahan stepped down. It’s believed the first jails were portable lockups, used until an actual building was constructed. A garage at 202 Pleasant St. was rented for five years at the cost of $300 annually, a not-so-modest sum for the era, and it was 1926 before the police found a home on Front Street “with a lockup in the basement of the building,” wrote Greenwood. The department stayed there until the 1980s when it moved into the facility adjacent to town hall on Pleasant Street.

A succession of chiefs have followed Callahan, incumbent Walsh being the tenth serving full-time. Joseph Reagan from Malden became the second chief in 1937, staying for four years before taking the same position in Keene, NH. He was followed by Robert Hildreth who had a more than 20-year run until 1962 when Robert Murphy took the reins. Sal Marinelli was chief from 1970-1984 and Charles Leavens, Steve Thompson,

Robert Harrington and Scott Livingston (2006-16) also preceded Walsh, who rumi-nated on the ones with whom he was familiar.

“I was hired in July, 1989 by chief Leavens but he retired shortly after that so the first chief I worked under was...Thompson. Chief Thompson was very consistent and very patient. I never saw him upset,” Walsh recalled, adding, “I feel those qualities are essential for a chief to be successful.”

“Chief Harrington fully embraced the community policing philosophy. He instituted and supported a number of initiatives including bike patrols, ATV patrols and boat patrols. He understood the importance of community and sup-port from the community as it relates to policing,” said Walsh.

Before Livingston came on board in 2006, a number of interim chiefs led the department including Marcel Rougier, Fred Cloutier, James Dufort and Jack Murray. It was Livingston whom Walsh credits with bringing about major change.

“Much as I would credit Chief Harrington with transitioning the department to a more community ori-ented philosophy, it is chief Livingston who I would credit with modernizing the department and bringing it into the 21st century. He was instrumental in the implementation of policies, proper supervision and training. He was also able to update much of the department’s equipment, specifically technology including an expansion of computer sys-tems, radios, telephones and software in an age where information sharing among police agencies is of paramount importance,” he stressed.

Women on the force? Records suggest there was a Josephine Martin employed as a ‘special officer’ during the 1960s but exactly what that meant is unclear. What is clear is that Tracy Flagg began her career as a dispatcher in 1996 and graduated from the Academy two years later, becoming the first full-time female

officer in Winchendon history.Winchendon acquired its first canine

officer in 2015 when Clyde (“the celeb-rity of the department” laughed Walsh) arrived that fall. Clyde may be the star celebrity, but the chief pointed out hav-ing the K-9 is like having multiple offi-cers on any given scene, a benefit for a small force. The department acquired him through a grant from the Stanton Foundation, but before he and human officer partner Jim Wironen could hit the streets, Clyde had to pass the state’s training program. Wironen did the fre-quently tedious legwork which secured the grant in the first place.

“It was a process,” Wironen acknowl-edged.

Westminster is the only other town in the region with a K-9.

For years, Animal Control was also folded into the police department. The town’s longest serving ACO, Anne Eddy, recalls starting with the police depart-ment around the turn of the century.

“They gave me a cruiser and I asked that paw prints be painted on it,” laughed Eddy. “I did some of my paperwork upstairs at the PD. They were easy to work with. The dispatchers were great.”

Equipment? You’ve likely never heard of the Baldwin chain nipper. Used from the 1870s until the 1930s, an officer would wrap the chain around a suspect’s wrist, twist and hold a T-shaped handle in order to secure said suspect. In the ‘30s that contraption was replaced by a mechanical ver-sion known as the Argus Iron Claw, which was used by most police departments for nearly 50 years.

Even the new Central Street headquarters has a history. The opening last fall closed the book on

a long and winding journey six years in the making. That’s how long it took for the department to be able to move from its increasingly outgrown and musty headquarters on Pleasant Street to the renovated former district courthouse on Central Street. The saga began in 2010 when local voters originally green-light-ed the purchase of the courthouse, a plan which dissolved when the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled such “turn-key” transactions weren’t legal because they bypassed open bid rules. Two years later, voters okayed spending $2.75 million for a new station and the subsequent search committee chose the Central Street site.

The building had housed a variety of businesses over the last century, includ-ing a clothing store and several pharma-cies and even dental offices, the latter located in what is now Walsh’s office. Additionally, the current headquarters was once home to the Winchendon Light and Power company which took up resi-dence nearly a century ago. By the 1970s, the Winchendon court took over the second floor, eventually occupying the entire building until the court moved to Gardner in 2009. Seven years later, the building re-opened as the new police headquarters with a day for the public to tour the facility.

Next in the series: personal recollec-tions.


OBITUARIES

STONE-LADEAU FUNERAL HOME 343 Central Street

Winchendon, MA 01475

Tel: 978-297-0077 • Fax: 978-297-0075

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ R. (Bourgette) Needham, 84GARDNER — Elizabeth “Betty” R.

(Bourgette) Needham, age 84 of Gardner passed away on Monday, May 8, 2017 in UMass Medical Center, University Campus, Worcester surrounded by her children and their spouses.

Elizabeth was born on Dec. 28, 1932 in Nashua, NH, the daughter of the late Henry Bourgette and the late Rosina (McLellan) Bourgette.

She attended Fitchburg High School. She was a vol-unteer with Cub Scout Pack 28, Little League,

Heywood Hospital and the Gardner Senior Center.

She was predeceased by her husband Leslie E. Needham in 2009, her step

son Leslie E. Needham Jr; brothers: Raymond, George, Bill; sisters: Rita, Lorraine, Elsie and Dorothy.

She is survived by her children: Richard Needham of Westborough, Michael Needham of Gardner, Diane Caisse of Holden, Kelly Ouellet of Gardner, Dale Despres of Westminster; step-daughter: Jean Needham of Winchendon; one brother, John Morin; seventeen grandchildren; seventeen great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Friday, May 19, 2017 at 1 p.m. in the Lamoureux-Fletcher & Smith Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Massachusetts Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, 111 Glenallan St., Winchendon.

Lamoureux-Fletcher & Smith – A Mack Family Funeral Home, 105 Central St., Gardner is directing arrangements.

Darlene Ruth (Cross) Rocheleau, 60WINCHENDON — Darlene Ruth

(Cross) Rocheleau, age 60 of 21 Jackson Ave, Winchendon, died Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at home.

She was born in Athol on Nov. 22, 1956, the daughter of the late Edward and the late Lois (Needham) Cross.

Darlene grew up and spent most of her life in Winchendon.

At the time of her death she was employed as a deli man-ager at Ashburnham Market Place, prior to that, she was employed at IGA Supermarket for 17 years.

An avid New England sports fan,

Darlene especially liked the Red Sox and Pawsox.

She leaves one daughter: Cherie Hart & her significant other, Neil Smith of Athol, and three sons: Shawn Cross & his wife, Holly, of Leominster, Garrett Cross of Winchendon, Cory Rocheleau of Winchendon; brothers: Larry Cross and Edward “Eagle” Cross, both of Winchendon; two grandchildren: Caitlin Hart and Owen Cross, and a great-granddaughter, Aurielle Johnson. Darlene was also close with her neigh-bors, Omer and Francis who were always very good to her. She also leaves her cat, Kiki, who she loved very much.

A funeral was held Tuesday, May 16 in the Lamoureux-Fletcher & Smith Funeral Home 105 Central St. Gardner.

Event not dampened by weatherBY JERRY CARTON

COURIER CORRESPONDENT

Rain forced the event indoors but the weath-er did nothing to damp-en the spirits of those who showed up for Alternatives’ annual party hosted by Gardner-based Crystal House Clubhouse.

Alternatives “is a non-profit human ser-vices agency currently serving over 2,000 adults with developmental and psychiatric disabilities in 55 residential, employ-

ment and day programs” throughout central Massachusetts including Winchendon.

Normally held in Monument Park, last Friday’s celebration nonetheless attracted nine vendors and a band. Tune Foolery, a band comprised of people who have experience with mental health issues, is on hand every year.

“It’s the first time we’ve been rained out” in 10 years, lamented Tammy Deveikis, program direc-tor at Crystal House, add-

ing, “this event is meant to raise awareness in the community of all the mental health resources in the local towns.”

“That includes Winchendon, of course and we do have peo-ple from Winchendon, though we’re always try-ing to reach out to that community to get more of them to come join us. I understand, though, transportation can be an issue,” acknowledged Deveikis.

In addition to Crystal Clubhouse and

Alternatives, vendors included The Bridge of Central Mass, Mount Wachusett Community College, IPPI, Seven Hills, LUK, Gardner Police, and Gardner Community Action.

“It’s no secret these are difficult times for a lot of people,” noted Deveikis. “That makes what we do, what all the Alternatives agencies do, that much more essential. That’s also why we want to reach out to all the towns around Gardner. Winchendon’s important

to us. We know the num-bers. We understand the mental health issues in a lot of communities.”

Deveikis pointed out that at Crystal House, members don’t just have a place to hang out.

“We’re bridging peo-ple back into the com-munity,” she said, noting members are directly involved in the day-to-day operation of the facil-ity, answering phones, planning and preparing up to 40 meals every day, and all the while follow-ing action plans designed

to help them reintegrate, including holding part-time jobs.

Rep. Jon Zlotnik (D-Gardner) called Crystal Clubhouse “a success story.”

Deveikis hopes so. “When I see people

making progress in their lives, going back to school, getting jobs, using things they learned or developed here, that’s really rewarding,” she said.

New behavioral services use video conferencing to reach isolated areas

Representatives from the Health Policy Commission presented $425,000 in funding for Heywood Healthcare to implement new school based TeleBehavioral health services to address the existing behav-ioral health needs and the gaps in care for the north central and North Quabbin region, in particular for youth and chil-dren.

This collaborative model will leverage interactive video conferencing technology to increase access to behavioral health services for school aged children and their families in a convenient an

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